Acton's Feud eBook

“Perhaps he may. Anyhow, something may
turn up between now and the last match—­we’ll
hope so, anyhow; and until the last cap is given away
the fellows generally won’t spot your little
game.”

“’Tis only putting off the evil day, Carr,”
said Phil, discontentedly.

“A good day to put off.”

Thus, when Hodgson was given the first cap, there
was the general comment that he was pretty sure to
annex a cap sooner or later, and might as well have
it soon. Acton’s turn—­so said
the school would come later, though Biffen’s
house sneered. “Of course, Hodgson is in
the Sixth. What else but a Sixth Form fellow
is wanted in a footer eleven?”

Sharpe’s house secured the next two caps, and
Biffen’s groaned aloud. “Whatever
is old Phil about? One might think he was blind
in his right eye and straddled in his left. We’ll
send him a pair of gig lamps, and then perhaps he
may discover Acton—­Acton, of Biffen’s.”

The weeks went by, and after a spirited display by
Chalmers against the Emeriti, he was given his cap,
and for the first time since Biffen’s was a
house they had a man in the eleven. But they gasped
as Chalmers came out of the pavilion with his blue
and silver cap on his curls. “That ass
Bourne found the house at last, and then he goes and
carefully spots the wrong man. Whatever is
the matter with him? To pick Chalmers before
Acton! Rot!”

Over tea that night Biffen’s bubbled and choked,
and the other houses began to take a lively interest
in the next distribution, for this constant passing
of Acton was becoming exciting. But still—­and
I was glad to see it—­the school had faith
in Phil; they counted on justice being done, as it
were, in the last laps. No one mentioned a word
to him about the intense curiosity and even anxiety
that his odd bestowal of caps had excited amongst
them, for Phil has that way with him that can shut
up a fellow quicker than you can snap a knife if that
fellow is travelling out of bounds.

However, when Place, of Merishall’s, came out
of the pavilion a full-blown member of the school
eleven there was a scene. The whole body of fellows
now thought that the comedy was pretty nearly becoming
a tragedy, and they showed their feelings unmistakably.
Place was cheered by Merishall’s, but not overwhelmingly,
and from the other houses there was an ominous silence.
Place, as he trotted out, looked rather puzzled, and
a bit undecided how to take his odd reception, and
glanced rather helplessly round at the sea of faces
all turned anxiously towards him. There would
be pretty nearly seven hundred fellows round the pavilion,
for there was no end of excitement.

The other members came out one by one, and were cheered
to the echo, and at last Phil came out with Hodgson.
He was rather pale, but had his back very straight.
There was a dead silence, and, for the first time since
he had been captain, Phil walked down the steps without
a friendly cheer. I think even now the old school
behaved itself very well—­the fellows were
not behind the scenes, and didn’t see more than
was before their eyes, but there was not a single
word thrown out at Phil. Acton came out with
Worcester, and the pity was that he didn’t deserve
the cheers he got.